Evgeny Kuznetsov played with Alexander Ovechkin

NHL

One of Russia's most gifted hockey players, Evgeny Kuznetsov, made his NHL debut in a match in which his new club, the Washington Capitals, lost 2:3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and on the day when the most dramatic event of the season took place in the league. During a match with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley suffered a heart attack and was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The players' state of shock did not allow the meeting to continue.

Rich Peverley, one of Dallas' most experienced and reliable forwards, became ill in the first period while on the bench. Dallas coach Lindy Ruff later said that he was very scared when he saw Peverley lose consciousness: “I immediately realized that this was an emergency.”

Dallas doctors provided first aid to the hockey player. According to Raff, it was thanks to their efforts that the tragedy did not occur. The hockey player was taken from the stadium to the hospital, where, according to doctor Gil Salazar, he underwent a series of procedures related to restoring cardiac activity, such as defibrillation. At the moment, Salazar is sure that there is no threat to his life.

After Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench, the match, in which Columbus managed to open the scoring, was stopped. After a long pause, the spectators in the stadium were told that it would be replayed on another day. The leaders of both teams explained that in the condition in which the hockey players were, waiting for news about Peverley, it was impossible to continue the meeting.

This incident will likely lead to discussions about tightening the NHL's medical regulations. The fact is that 31-year-old Rich Peverley had heart problems long before yesterday's match. He was diagnosed with severe arrhythmia during a medical examination in training camp. He missed the preseason matches, but played in the regular season almost from the very start. And already during the championship, the arrhythmia appeared again. Because of her, he did not play last week in the away match with the same Columbus. Peverley complained of feeling unwell, but despite this, he was included in the squad for the next match against the Blue Jackets.

Yesterday, a promising Russian hockey player made his debut in the NHL. Washington waited a long time for Evgeniy Kuznetsov. He was selected in the draft back in 2010, being ranked among the most talented juniors, but decided to stay in the KHL. The delay did not bring much happiness to Kuznetsov. In the Chelyabinsk “Traktor” he didn’t exactly regress, but at least he never turned into a real superstar, having flown past the Sochi Olympics, although a couple of years ago it seemed that the forward was obliged to get into the national team.

Traktor was left out of the playoffs this season, and Evgeny Kuznetsov signed a contract with Washington. In his debut match, Kuznetsov spent almost ten and a half minutes on the court, playing a dozen shifts. Most of them were on the fourth line, but sometimes coach Adam Oates introduced it to the first line, with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Oates considered the newcomer's game quite normal, although Kuznetsov did not show any statistical achievements, and Washington lost to Pittsburgh with Sidney Crosby raging (goal and two assists).

Another thing is that the Capitals coach is probably hoping for a more solid return from Kuznetsov in the near future. If Evgeni Malkin's Pittsburgh is the leader in the Eastern Conference, then Washington is still outside the Cup Eight - in tenth position. They are one point ahead of Columbus and the Detroit Red Wings, but the Washingtonians have two games to spare.

Alexey Dospehov

Washington has become even more Russified